Posted on 03/07/2013 in Medical Marijuana Legalization
The House committee panel of the Illinois law making body approved legislative bill HB1 to legalize medical marijuana in the Prairie State. The House committee approved the bill by a 11-4 majority vote Wednesday morning. The legislation will now be sent to the 118 member Illinois House of Representatives for voting.
House Bill 1, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang, D-Skokie, would allow people suffering from specific medical conditions to obtain medical marijuana. The measure would allow patients over the age of 18 who have been diagnosed with specific terminal illnesses or debilitating medical conditions to obtain marijuana. Cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV are among the illnesses.
Supporters of the bill believe that it would be the most tightly regulated marijuana law in the country, restricting who can use the drug to people suffering from specific diseases and limiting the total number of marijuana dispensaries statewide to 60. "This is clearly model legislation for the country if we pass it," said state Rep. Lou Lang.
Recent polls show that 63% of Illinoisans either strongly favor legalizing the medical use of marijuana. However, medical marijuana legalization remains a polarizing issue with 32% opposed or strongly opposed. These polling statistics were gathered from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
The medical marijuana legalization movement would gain a strong player with the addition of Illinois and would establish a very large cannabis market. Chicago, the most populous city in the state of Illinois has approximately 2.8 million residents. Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States behind New York City and Los Angeles.
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